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Country Stars Real Names

To you they’re known as Shania Twain and Wynonna Judd, but check out what’s on their birth certificates

Prior to becoming a country star, Jason Farris Brown was a golf pro. He changed his name to Colt Ford after finishing the golf Nationwide Tour in 2008.

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RaeLynn is following in the footsteps of one-name stars like Cher and Madonna! Born Racheal Woodward, RaeLynn had been going by that nickname for years before running on "The Voice."

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The late Johnny Paycheck was born Donald Eugene Lytle but legally changed his name in 1964. The name lives on with his son whose name is Jonathan Paycheck.

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Lauren Alaina dropped her last name, Suddeth, before running as an American Idol contestant in 2011.

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Gary Vernon, Jr. didn't know that LeVox stands for "the voice" in French prior to adopting the name Gary LeVox, and he's embarassed about it! He didn't mean to choose such an egotistical name, he took it from a piece of recording equipment labeled "L.Vox."

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Randall Hank Williams who goes by Hank Williams Jr. isn't a "jr." at all. He is the son of Hiram King Williams. His son, Shelton Hank Williams, goes by Hank III.

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Wynonna Judd's name change is complicated. Judd is her legal name but Ciminella is the last name of her step-father. Growing up her name was Christina Claire Ciminella. At age 13, her mother started calling her Wynonna after a Ray Benson song about Winona, Arizona.

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Jay DeMarcus was born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus. His parents hated his real name so they called him Jay from an early age.

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James Travis Tritt decided to drop his first name. The alliteration in "Travis Tritt" makes it easier to remember.

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Craig Morgan Greer dropped his last name as well, giving him a little more privacy.

As Shawn Randolph Houser in 2005 he co-wrote hit song "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" with Trace Adkins. Since then, he dropped his first name and started going by Randy Houser.

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Bucky Covington, born William Joel Covington III, adopted his nickname from his grandfather's.

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Born Eileen Regina Edwards, Shania Twain changed her name upon arriving in Nashville. Shania means "I'm on my way" in a Native American dialect and Twain was her step-father's last name.

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Like many other country artists, Toby Keith Covel dropped his last name. He was one of the first to do so.

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Before going by Randy Travis, country star Randy Traywick went by Randy Ray.

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Robert James Ritchie, more commonly known as Kid Rock, got his nickname after DJing parties in Detroit. He'll be 80 and people will still call him the "Kid!"

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Trace Adkins is a more fitting name for a hefty former oil rig worker, rather than his birthname Tracy Darrell Adkins.

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Thomas Luther Bryan chose to go with Luke Bryan, a combination of a shorter version of his middle name and his actual last name.

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Samuel Timothy Smith dropped his first name and changed his last to match his dad's, MLB pitcher Tug McGraw.

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Jason (Aldine) Williams was preceded by a handful of basketball players with the same name so he dropped his last name. He also changed the spelling of his middle name, from Aldine to Aldean, making it easier for people to pronounce.

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Margaret LeAnn Rimes is another singer who dropped her first name. Now-a-days she goes by LeAnn Rimes-Cibrian.

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Jimmy Wayne Barber dropped 'Barber' from his name because it belonged to his mother's first husband, not his biological father.

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Terri Lynn Sauson might have dropped Sauson because it's close to the word sausage. If God doesn't bless you with a Hollywood last name, you have the freedom to come up with one yourself!

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John Denver was born John Henry Deutschendorf. He adopted a surname that would be easier for fans to pronounce and spell when searching for CDs. Denver is the capital of his favorite state, Colorado.